Who's hungry? New restaurants open(ing) in Ocala

Carlos E. Medina @OcalaStarBanner

Wednesday

Nov 7, 2018 at 4:30 PMNov 8, 2018 at 12:05 PM

Open Haus, Cheddar's Scratch Kitchen, Starbucks, Mi Tierra Latina

Nationally, chain restaurants continue steady expansion in the face of a growing economy, according to foodservice industry groups. In Ocala, several chains and an aspiring chain open new locations this month.

Among them are the Darden-owned Cheddar's Scratch Kitchen, Starbucks and Open Haus, a fledgling chicken chain opening its first location.

In 2018, restaurant sales will top $825 billion, according to a report by the National Restaurant Association. It's the ninth consecutive year of national sales growth for the industry and expectations are similar for 2019.

Locally, one investor hopes to establish their chain with the inaugural location in Ocala.

For weeks, the fate of the old Carmichael's restaurant location was the subject of heavy speculation after part of the exterior got a fresh coat of vivid, yellow paint.

Slowly, bits and pieces came out: The name of the new establishment is Open Haus, it serves craft chicken, and the grand opening is Saturday.

The slow dribble of information grew interest and the consultants putting the project together milked it for all it was worth. Representatives with The Restaurant Company, a New York-based restaurant consulting group which bills itself as the No. 1 firm of its type, said it got more than 11,000 emails inquiring about the project.

To keep things under wraps, phones were not allowed inside the building and anyone knocking on the door — and there were several a day — got the craft chicken answer as too what was coming.

But the question remained: What is craft chicken?

Francine Quiles, who is part of the consulting team working on the restaurant,, said the concept is chef-created, chicken entrees featuring several regional flavors, including Nashville hot and New Orleans style. The menu will go live before Saturday's opening on the restaurant's website, www.openhausrestaurants.com.

Many of the entrees will include chicken fried in a similar style as schnitzel, which in Germany is prepared with pork or veal. The frying technique includes thinner cuts of meat, dipped in an egg wash then dredged through flour and breadcrumbs. The breaded meat is then pan-fried.

But the menu also will include grilled chicken options as well as other protein selections.

The hope is the restaurant, at 3105 E. Silver Springs Blvd., will grow into a chain. In the meantime, the restaurant hopes to take an active role in supporting local education and first responders.

"I'm excited to see how we can impact the community. As a restaurant, we're not just another brick and mortar pushing out food. We want to share something greater with the community and be able to give back and make an impact alongside those that make an impact in the community," Quiles said.

It's not fondue

On Tuesday, Cheddar's Scratch Kitchen opened its doors to a crush of hungry people.

The chain, founded in Texas in 1979, has more than 170 locations across the country. The Ocala location took almost two years to build. Orlando-based Darden Restaurants bought the chain in March 2017 for $780 million in cash. Publicly traded Darden also operates Olive Garden and LongHorn Steakhouse among its eight chains and 1,500 restaurants.

While the chain features a selection of made-from-scratch items, cheddar — as in the cheese — is not featured prominently. To those not familiar with the comfort-food heavy menu, it caused a little confusion.

"We had people coming to the door asking if it was a fondue restaurant," said Ashley Norman, the Ocala location's managing partner.

The restaurant at 4065 SW State Road 200 cost about $1.2 million and seats nearly 300 people. The operator hired more than 190 people to staff the restaurant.

"As a company, we employ more people because we are a scratch kitchen. We need more people to make sure we take care of our guests in the right way," Norman said.

Cheddar's has a broad menu with items such as chicken tenders, meatloaf, steak and seafood. The more popular items on the menu include the honey butter croissants, beer-battered chicken tenders and onion rings.

"Everyone loves a home-cooked meal, but a lot of people don't have time to do that. So we're really excited to be here to provide that scratch kitchen," Norman said.

The restaurant is working with Deliverance Refuge Center in Ocala and will provide leftover food to the organization to help feed the needy.

Starbucks moves to the right

A new, larger Starbucks location opens Nov. 16 next to an existing store currently in a cramped strip mall.

The 2,500-square-foot standalone building, complete with a drive-through window, replaces the store immediately to the left — when looking from the road. That location suffered from constant parking woes.

The new site was once home to a Lee’s Famous Recipe Chicken at 2710 SW State Road 200, near the intersection of Southwest 27th Avenue. That building came down earlier this year and the new building is nearing completion. The old location closes on Nov. 13, while operations move to the new store. Frappucchino diehards will need to visit another location for a couple of days.

No lima beans

While not a chain, Mi Tierra Latina reopens its second location on Friday.

The spot at 3131 SW State Road 200, will open at noon and features Peruvian and Mexican cuisine. The restaurant occupied the location before, but it closed some time ago. They operate another location at 2105 SW Highway 484.

The menu includes Peruvian specialties including ceviche, diced fish marinated in lime and salt topped with red onions.

Contact Carlos Medina at 867-4157 or cmedina@starbanner.com

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